Order of the Scepter

A cavalier who belongs to this order devotes his life to guiding and protecting any spellcasters under his charge, and works to protect those outside his charge who do not offend his code of ethics. Cavaliers of this order tend to be stalwart, compassionate, and willing to stand against prejudice and bigotry towards magic and spellcasters. This order complements the Aegis Lancer multiclass archetype.

Edicts: The cavalier must be ever vigilant in protecting his charge, and guiding them in the proper ways of magic use. He must always place the protection of a spellcaster ahead of his own. The cavalier must take every opportunity to ensure that any spellcaster within his prevue gains sufficient rest and opportunity to maintain and increase his arcane knowledge and power.

Challenge: Whenever an order of the scepter cavalier issues a challenge, he receives a +1 morale bonus on all melee damage rolls made against the target of his challenge as long as target is threatening a spellcaster under his charge. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the cavalier possesses. Furthermore, should the scepter cavalier confirm a critical hit against the target of his challenge, the target must make a Will save against a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the cavalier’s level or takes a –2 penalty to its AC against any attacks made by the cavalier until the end of the challenge.

Skills: An order of the scepter cavalier adds Knowledge (arcana) (Int) and Perception (Wis) to his list of class skills. In addition, an order of the scepter cavalier adds his Intelligence modifier to any saves against spells cast at him while he is adjacent to a spellcaster under his charge.

Order Abilities: An order of the scepter cavalier that belongs to the order of the scepter gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Defender of the Apprentice (Sp): At 2nd level, as a swift action, an order of the scepter cavalier may bind himself to one ally for a number of rounds per day equal to his cavalier level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. This effect has a range of 60 feet, and otherwise functions as the shield other spell.

Eldritch Guidance (Sp): At 8th level, as a swift action, an order of the scepter cavalier may select one allied arcane spellcaster within 60 ft of him. This spellcaster may cast touch spells upon the aegis lacer without being adjacent to him until the beginning of the cavalier’s next turn. The cavalier may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1/2 his aegis lancer level.

Spell Shielding (Sp): At 15th level, an order of the scepter cavalier can deflect spells back at the caster. The cavalier may spend a full–round action to deflect a number of spells cast at him during that round equal to 1d6 + his Intelligence modifier. This ability functions as the spell turning spell. If the cavalier has his defender of the apprentice in effect, he may choose to deflect spells cast upon that target instead.